What’s in Serenity’s WWDC 2017 gear bag?

When it comes to packing for WWDC, it's all about patterns.

I've been in northern California for six WWDCs since 2011: One in-town experience, and five cross-country packing journeys.

Each WWDC has required slightly different tools and bag needs, and 2017 is no different. This year, I'm coming to San Jose directly from a roller derby tournament in Milwaukee: As a result, I needed to be smarter than ever about what I packed, how much I packed, and the bag I packed it in.

I'm exceedingly thankful for my five past WWDC experiences, which have let me get a handle on what I need and what I can get away with leaving at home; I wouldn't have been able to pack this year's bag without them.

2017 adds an old favorite — a Mac laptop — to my bag, as well as my 9.7-inch iPad Pro and iPhone 7 Plus, but in picking my MacBook Pro over the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, I've also reduced some of the extra bulk otherwise taken up by additional accessories. Here's what I'm bringing!

• Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack: Because I was already bringing a pretty hefty backpack on this trip for my roller derby gear, I wanted to keep my tech needs light and nimble — and one of Osprey's hiking backpacks, the Daylite Plus, is a perfect fit. I've been loving traveling with Pad and Quill's beautiful Cascade backpack, but it was just going to be too bulky along with my other luggage.

  In addition, with all the hustle and bustle of WWDC's keynote and events, the idea of a small but versatile bag was just too tempting to pass up: It's rugged but stylish, and built like a hiking backpack with all the right vents to keep air flowing through your back as you wear it. The Daylite Plus easily fits my MacBook Pro and iPad Pro together in its main compartment and laptop sleeve, with plenty of room to spare for additional chargers and my other miscellany.

• 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar: I love writing on my iPads. I do. But trade shows are tricky to cover iPad-only, and I missed out on playing with the early macOS Sierra betas last year by opting not to bring a laptop. Not this year. I'm also covering it with Pad and Quill's Cartella Slim, a fabulous protective book covering that also keeps my Mac from looking like an easy theft target — or getting lost in a crowd of other Mac users.

• 9.7-inch iPad Pro and Pencil: This year, I'm bringing my iPad to WWDC as much for new iOS betas as anything else, but I'm also hoping to get some sketching and brainstorming in with the iPad throughout the week. It's also nice to know I have a backup writing machine should I end up in a place where I can't easily recharge my Mac — the iPad Pro's battery life has saved me on more than one occasion. And hey, if I also happen to get better multitasking in a developer beta, more the better.

• Logitech Create Keyboard Case: Even though I may not do a ton of typing on my iPad this year, my Logitech Create case is pretty much fused to it at this point. It gives me a great keyboard, protection when tossing the tablet into bags, and a secure place for my Apple Pencil.

• iPhone 7 Plus: How the tables have turned: I brought the 6s Plus along back in 2016 largely as a dumb pipe for iOS betas; twelve months later, the Plus model is my primary phone, thanks largely to Portrait Mode and its superior battery life. (Fun fact: It's not in my gear picture because it took the gear picture.) I'm currently using Twelve South's Journal folio case for both protection and a wallet option, so as to further cut down on the number of things I have to worry about.

• Steel Apple Watch: I can't go anywhere without my trusty Apple Watch. It not only helps me keep track of northern California's strange weather patterns and pay for things, it also allows me to stay in the loop while walking the city streets without ever having to take out and stare at my iPhone. And it'll be tracking my activity all this weekend during my tournament!

• AirPods: These have become my everyday headphones carry, and for good reason — I can use them to listen to something without much muss or fuss, and having them attached to my bag with the Lunies keychain case makes them even easier to grab at a moment's notice.

• Beats X: Where the AirPods are all about convenience, the Beats X provide the sound isolation I occasionally desperately need at conferences. In trying to pack light this trip, I opted not to bring my beloved Bose QC35 headphones, so the Beats X are essential in making sure everything stays quiet even in the loudest environments.

• Mophie Powerstation XXL: WWDC is largely a pretty device-friendly experience, but it's also a device-draining experience. And between new iOS betas, running around a new city, and almost assuredly playing some Pokemon Go, my iPhone and iPad's battery can take a beating. Mophie's largest Powerstation is my saving grace here: The 20,000mAh battery offers more than 7 full charges for an iPhone or up to two charges for an iPad, giving me plenty of juice for those low-battery nights. I've paired the battery with Native Union's 10ft woven Belt Cable, so I can charge in almost any situation without worrying about cord length or fraying cables.

• Anker Multi-port USB charger: When you're traveling, every extra USB cord and wall plug takes up space in your bag — and adds to the stress of tech-packing. Anker lets me centralize my device charging with a single power brick that can charge a USB-C gadget (or an iPad Pro with a Lightning to USB-C cord), two iPhones, another iPad, and my Apple Watch.

• Time Porter: Twelve South's portable Apple Watch charger and band storage is the best thing I've found for charging my smartwatch on the go, and it gets extra marks for being able to hold my many, many bands.

• Pokemon Go Plus: I blame Rene.

• Joby GorillaPod: When on the road, you never know what you might be called upon to film at WWDC. My trusty GorillaPod mini-tripod is so small, it can easily hide in my bag until it's needed, and I can't wait to use it wtih Studio Neat's new adjustable Glif.

• Pocket Reflector: I didn't have a ton of room in my bag for iPhone photography gear, but the Pocket Reflector is small enough and useful enough that it becomes a must-pack in event situations. The light reflector folds out into a 12-inch circle with white and silver light bounce options, and you can hold and position it just about anywhere.

• Manfrotto Lumimuse LED As with the Pocket Reflector, I carry the Lumimuse because you never know when you might have to shine a light or two on a portrait, hands on, or WWDC party selfie. It's a nice little hand-sized LED spotlight that can optionally be mounted to my Gorillapod to provide stabilized light.

• Roller skates: I packed them as part of my tournament gear, but they just so happen to snap nicely to the front of my Osprey pack. Skating between WWDC parties? Don't mind if I do.

• Sleep mask: In case I need a few Zzzs on planes or in-between parties.

• Sunglasses: In San Jose, it's actually sunny! Who knew?

• Hand sanitizer: Because no one wants to get sick during WWDC.

• Water bottle: I never drink enough water at conferences, but having a water bottle handy allows me to at least guilt-trip myself about it.

The keynote starts at 10am PT/1pm ET on Monday, June 5, and we will be covering the entire event live.